Closing Day!

First stop Title Shop.

After we signed the wheelbarrow full of documents and became proud owners of our new house, we stopped home to get Stella to show her our new residence! 

 She loved the house 

(but hates the camera so Henry captured her to capture a moment)

 We I also grabbed some of our most worldly possessions...

 a vase full of pinwheels and our family portrait

 Our realtor gave us this wreath, ahhh

Watch out Pottery Barn!

I am thankful for Henry, Stella and all the love and support from our family and friends. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Next stop Oregon.

2nd Street Interior No 2/3

Today I am taking you on the second level tour...

I love the look of the stairs. Although, I am not crazy about the carpet.

Here's the deal, I think a few broken ankles might be worth the bare stair look?!



 Master Bedroom

our new view...our old view, this will have to do.

Craft Room

Trust me, I am standing in a room, however this sink is the only picture I snapped in the whole room.

It's located inside the closet. I am going to use it to wash glue off my fingers, but it was intended for the maids to wash up before they left their living quarters. I wish we could have a maid, sigh.

Henry's Office

Guest Room

The door leads to a porch (currently unfinished but on our must do list)

Only the best for our guests...

 Bathroom

Remember the bathroom vanity I was talking about painting?

I know, I know it's perfectly good cherry wood, maybe it's the gold knobs.

JACUZZI TUB, what up!

What good is a jacuzzi tub without heated floors in the bathroom!

 Booyah!

The last few 2nd floor highlights...

1. Laundry Chute

2. Vent into my closet to air out all my furs

3. A special little shelf for one of my treasures

 Built in cabinet outside the bathroom.

Linens and Towels and Lotions, Oh My!

 

 I saved the best for last

our new house is full of glass doorknobs galore, we are so lucky!

See you in the basement!

Pottery Barn Please!

WARNING: viewer discretion is advised, this blog is full of 'love' and eye candy

Henry, Stella and I were away for two nights this weekend and when we returned to our cozy little condo we found a dozen catalogs spilling out of our mailbox. Can you imagine, so comical.

11 of them can take a hike,

 and one of them made me flutter with excitement... 

 I love Pottery Barn (not so much the prices),

 but the style and ideas make me beam with happiness.

 A few honorable mentions:

I love their big chunky tables!

 I love this chair and ever more than that I love ticking stripe

 Is that painted wood I see? LOVE IT!

I debated painting our new bathroom vanity, sold.

 I love light fixtures, sparkly, fancy and unique light fixtures.

I think they make a space.

Did they take a photo of our new house? I wish!

love love love!

Someday...

2 views, 1 room

Dear Patrick and Sarah,

I have been giving some thought to your cabin's living room arrangement. I understand you want to take advantage of the spectacular lake view and the cozy fireplace on the opposite wall. Who could blame you?

Here are a few furniture ideas...

 This couch is perfect for snuggling, but won't block the view...

 Sleek modern and your mom can chose the best pieces

 

 Umm, you should know this chair swivels

cozy fire...lake...cozy fire...lake

My virtual room design skills are infantile, but I think you will get the point...

Can you picture it? I hope this helps get your creative juices flowing. We always enjoy your company and look forward to our next visit to Sturgeon Lake.

Our Best,
The Lovely's

Royalty

Congratulations Prince William and Kate!

Although I am happy for them, I am starting to feel a little jealous about all the attention the Royal Couple is receiving, so I thought I would size them up, and as it turns out we are pretty similar...

10. William's brother's name is Henry, I am married to Henry (both red heads:)
9. Kate is marrying into the Royal Family, I married into a Royal Family (that's what I have been told)
8. William and Kate went to college, Henry and I went to college
7. Kate's last name ends with an 'on', my last name ends with...ooh an 'ly'
6. William works for the Government, Henry works for the Government
5. Kate doesn't work, I don't like to work
4. William's mom was a Princess, Henry's mom is a Princess
3. William and Kate are in People magazine, I read people magazine
2. Kate is private and reserved, I am Henry is private and reserved
1. Kate and I wear the exact same engagement ring...both family jewels, same size, same stones and worth the exact same amount, see below

Good luck figuring out who's who...

A little about our rings: 18 carat sapphire surrounded by diamonds which had a worth of about $65,000 in US back in the 1980′s. Now, the price is priceless and would likely command MILLIONS at an auction simply because it was Princess Diana’s Henry's Grandmother Rosemary's.

2nd Street Interior No. 1/3

First, I want to mention that 2nd Street was also the address of the house I grew up in. I was hoping for a catchier street address, but the city wasn't willing to negotiate.

Second, there have been some requests from my fan base (wink wink Nichol and Laura) to post interior pics. Well, the opportunity presented itself to get some good daylight photos during our recent home inspection. While Henry and Tom, the inspector, talked furnaces and wiring, I moseyed around snapping photos. Let's face it, I didn't tag along to discuss trench system or gutters, I had pictures to take.

No. 1/3: Main Level

 Welcome to the Lovely's

 Inside the Front Entrance

 Kitchen

(notice the little square laundry chute: no stinky washcloths allowed!)

 Breakfast Nook

(home of a future breakfast booth)

 Can you believe it?

I can light up all of my China!

Powder Room off the of the Kitchen

 Sun Room

(the tile floor, a feature of the house, was done in 1924 by a local artist)

Doors between Sunroom and Living Room

 

Gas Fireplace

 Built Ins

  I didn't notice these the first 2 visits to the house, the perfect place for all of my treasures, seen here.

the 1st floor circle is complete in the

Formal Dining Room

Stay tuned for parts 2 & 3 of the 2nd Street Colonial Tour.

Walkability

Big News...The Lovely's are kind of a big deal. Check out today's Duluth News Tribune.


http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/183987/publisher_ID/36/

 Nikki Olson and Henry Eichman walk on North Lake Avenue in Duluth on the way to their bank on Friday afternoon. Edina Realty has added walkability scores to it listings, and the couple’s condominium at Lake Avenue and Fourth Street has a score of 88 out of 100. It is in an area where restaurants, parks, shopping, concerts and events can be easily reached by walking. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

Of course, when I was asked by the DNT to talk about our experience living downtown I said "yes." You can imagine how reserved I was about being photographed for the paper. So cool, calm and collected I laid out my cutest winter wares the night before!

Unfortunately, it won't be quite as convenient to pop downtown from our new pad. We have appreciated and taken advantage of being in the heart of Duluth.

Clint, DNT Photographer

Unfortunately, Clint wasn't willing to spend the whole evening with us, so I finished photographing the rest of the walk myself.

 

"For us it's the ideal location"...just in the nick of time! Our new house's score...31

what's on your cupboards?

While on the hunt for the new Lovely house, I paid close attention to the kitchen cupboards. My concern was not the color or the style but the height. All the way to the top please! I just prefer the ceiling and cupboards are close friends.

Remember the cupboards in the new house...

Yay, all snuggled up!

There is nothing I love more than the extra perks that come with the house. However, considering I have had time to adapt to our current cupboard/ceiling relationship...

(This picture was taken during move in, over 4 years ago, 

I would never leave my counters in this kind of disarray.)

Where on Earth will I put all of my treasures that hang out on top of the cupboards...

Henry doesn't quite understand why I get peeved when he uses my collection of cheese graters to, well umm grate cheese...

Why wouldn't I need all 3 Martha Stewart Cake Stands?...

(I am super embarrassed about the off center cake stand.

 Please don't judge me!)

As I pack up my cupboard clutter treasures I am trying to cope with the idea that there may not be as special of a place for them in our new home.

What 's on your cupboards?